CHICO -- Samantha Consentino, 23, was attending the University of Hawaii in September when she first noticed the pain coming from beneath her right armpit.

After monitoring the discomfort for two weeks, she discovered a hard lump in her right breast and immediately — like any woman who's ever read a breast examination pamphlet — booked an appointment with her OB/GYN.

After two separate doctor visits, she was assured she "absolutely did not have breast cancer" and she was convinced, via Google search, that the growing lump was either scar tissue from a previous breast augmentation, a ruptured silicone implant or cyst and needed to be operated on immediately.

Doctors refused to perform any ultrasounds or mammograms on her but — since she served four and a half years active duty for the U.S. Navy — she was able to bypass resisting hospitals and have the procedures done at a veterans' hospital.

"I was texting my dad the whole time and thought I needed to get the implant fixed," Consentino said.

"I thought that was the worst-case scenario," she said.

On Nov. 2 she was given the news that she had stage-three breast cancer.

"All these words were flowing out of her mouth but my brain couldn't make sense of them," Consentino said.

With little time to digest the information, she came home within days and poured over information regarding her next steps.

Since getting the news, she has visited many hospitals — including Stanford Medicine, which is home to Stanford Women's Cancer Center — and has received MRIs, mammograms, cardiograms, PET scans, CAT scans and bone scans.

Consentino has also been diagnosed with the BRCA2 gene, which is linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

In order to preserve her reproductive abilities, she met with fertility specialists within a week of being diagnosed and eventually extracted 19 eggs before her first chemotherapy appointment.

After a total of eight chemotherapy sessions, she plans to have a mastectomy, radiation and reconstructive surgery. This process is estimated to take two years, she said.

Close friends created a Facebook page in November ("Team Sam: The Fight Against Breast Cancer") where she is able to connect with supporters, breast cancer survivors and receive donations for fertility treatments, travel and other expenses not covered by her health insurance.

Though she is constantly surrounded by her support system and exudes positivity through the toughest trials, being diagnosed with breast cancer has been an isolating experience.

Samantha is unable to relate to support groups filled with older women and women with families of their own.

Through Facebook she was able to connect with a woman who was diagnosed at 29 and has been guided through many expectations and experiences. "She's been my mentor," Consentino said.

"I can connect with her a lot better because, even though my friends are there no matter what, they don't understand what I'm going through," she said.

Samantha has started a blog (teamsam2012.blogspot.com) that details her story, cancer timeline and updates on what she's approaching in her treatment.

She hopes to be an advocate for young women with breast cancer so she may help other people her age — diagnosed or being refused treatment — on their journey.

"I really want women, especially my age, to know that it's so important that you know your body. Nobody knows your body like you. If you feel like there's something wrong you need to push it," she said.

Staff Writer Christina Rafael can be reached at 896-7761 or crafael@chicoer.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @christinarafae1.